Consol taps Veolia for W.Va. mine water

Posted April 19, 2011

Observer-Reporter

CANONSBURG - Consol Energy Inc. on Monday said that Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies will design and build a state-of-the-art zero liquid waste discharge system to treat mine water at three of Consol's West Virginia mines.

The two companies said in a news release that they are also completing an agreement for operation and maintenance of the facility, which will be located near Mannington, W.Va.

The system will treat mine water from Consol's Blacksville No. 2, Loveridge and Robinson Run mines.

Monday's announcement came a month after Southpointe-based Consol agreed to pay a $5.5 million civil penalty to the Environmental Protection Agency for Clean Water Act violations at six of its West Virginia mines.

In addition to the civil penalty, Consol also agreed to pay $500,000 to the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection and the Division of Natural Resources to settle violations regarding pollution in Dunkard Creek that resulted in a massive fish kill in September 2009.

The settlement also included a commitment by Consol to spend $200 million on the construction of an advanced water treatment plant to address high levels of chlorides discharged from four of its underground mines in northern West Virginia.

The company said Monday that it chose Veolia because of its 155 years of global water treatment experience necessary to design and operate the system to treat high-volume, complex water from its mines.

The company has designed and operated more than 75 zero liquid discharge plants around the world.

Final design of the facility will be completed within the next few months, with construction to start in July and full operation to begin by May 2013. The Veolia team will be utilizing primarily local personnel through its office in Pittsburgh and local construction partners.

Final design of the treatment plant will be completed within the next few months, with construction to start in July. Full operation of the Mannington plant is to begin by May 2013.

Consol said the project is expected to create about 200 construction jobs over the next 30 months and will require about 20 permanent employees to operate the facility.

In addition to the plant Veolia will build to treat water at the three mines announced Monday, Consol is commissioning a separate $100 million water treatment facility at its Buchanan Mine.